Am I mad, newbie tourer

[yutkoxpo]

Nah, you're not mad....yet!

As a smoker I can reassure you that long days cycling only increase the pleasure of your nicotine fix

But seriously.... Everything Willem says above. Simple advice, but accurate.

Have a look also over on CrazyGuyOnABike.com in the journal section. There's a nifty search function when you can figure it all out. You can easily find journals for people who have done a similar route to your plans. Compare time of year, distances etc to help you get a handle on things.

Bike touring can be a great holiday. Bike riding can be a great way to get exercise, get healthy. So, no, you're not mad yet, but if you're lucky, you'll end up bike mad

Best of luck!

[MrsHJ]

If you can cruise at say 10 mph, then riding 70 miles means seven hours sitting on a bike, plus the time for any stops on top of that. Not everybody's idea of fun.

+1. And don't under estimate the potential for crippling saddle soreness, especially if you are overweight. All the fitness in the world won't help you if you haven't found a suitable saddle and broken in your bum.

I find this quite negative.
Being slower than most, a multi day trip will usually find me riding for more than seven hours a day ( plus stops etc ) - but to me touring is long days on the bike and I find it enjoyable.
I have not yet found myself "crippled" by saddle soreness.
The answer of course is to get the position and choice of saddle correct.
The OP is still a young man - six months should be easily sufficient to get to the level of fitness he needs.
A point I would make is that the exercise alone will not necessarily lead to weight loss, so some discipline will also be needed for food intake.
Also losing weight may lead initially to a fall in power output - but this is a cycle tour not a race or ultra marathon.
Of course I don't know if his wife is equally determined

People of any size can cycle- the distances are more difficult when less fit and carrying more weight so it’s good to exercise and so on before you go. I think it would be a bad move for most people to say “I’ll go on a cycle tour when I’m down to x stone” as you’ll never do it. Speaking at the more cuddly end of the spectrum I lose weight when on a cycle tour and I expect many who are intermittently active do.

[thirdcrank]

If you can cruise at say 10 mph, then riding 70 miles means seven hours sitting on a bike, plus the time for any stops on top of that. Not everybody's idea of fun.

+1. And don't under estimate the potential for crippling saddle soreness, especially if you are overweight. All the fitness in the world won't help you if you haven't found a suitable saddle and broken in your bum.

Hobby horse alert: I think there's a difference between saddle "soreness" and saddle "sores." I think the former is almost inevitable when somebody unused to cycling starts riding. It's the result of the big muscles in the backside being sat on while being worked in an unaccustomed way. It's generally excruciating but passes quickly if the rider persists. It's at this initial stage when new riders dream of cushioned saddles etc.

Saddle sores - boils or blisters - are different, although probably no less painful.

[horizon]

I second Bonefishblues's suggestion of trying out a tandem. (They're not for everyone.) Mrs. M-k and I have always been casual, errands-around-town cyclists, but a tandem raised our cycling repertoire to a new level. For most people it's probably not a great bicycle for building up strength and endurance, but we found it ideal for spending time together and, best of all, for touring together.

On the face of it, it's a great idea - Mrs H and I have done our best joint touring on the tandem. But in reality, touring on a tandem not only means being practised on one before you start but working out the practicalities of luggage weight and carriage, not having a second working bike if the tandem breaks down and different mechanical niceties to familiarise yourself with. And that's before any talk of using public transport (Bike Express and ferries excepted).

I cannot recommend a couple cycling with a tandem highly enough - but just not in this case. I would have thought the OP and his wife would be able to work out a modus operandi much more easily on separate bikes.

[thirdcrank]

Unfortunately, I see that the OP feels they have been shot down in flames.
viewtopic.php?p=1333805#p1333805


PS I will say that a tandem is a uniquely certain means of discovering if a couple have shared goals

[Sweep]

yes I saw that and wondered if it referred to this - (I didn't check the poster)

You have confirmed that it is one and the same.

I think he is misinterpreting the content and tone of what I see as helpful well-meant feedback.

Pity.

[Bonefishblues]

I think that the 'intensity' of this site sometimes surprises the unfamiliar tbh

[Sweep]

well as I've said before bonefish I consider this a very nice place.

I know one or two other places which are way way more fraught with too many game playing egos.

Mind you I generally stay away from the teashop.

Have a great trip OP.

[Vorpal]

Welcome. I don't think you're mad, and I think that the folks who say you are are being too harsh. Everyone has to start somewhere, and I hope no one has put you off the idea.

I largely agree with Willem, but have a few points to add...

1) Make sure that your bike & your wife's are set up correctly for you. Member 531colin has a DIY guide to bike fitting here http://wheel-easy.org.uk/wp-content/upl ... -2017a.pdf

2) Build up you distance capability gradually. Ride as often as you can in the week, even if it's short distances (shopping? commuting? running errands?), and ride gradually increasing distances (+5 or 10% each time?) at the weekend or free days. You and your wife need to both do this, either separately or together. Joining a club and doing a social ride or club run once a week may make this easier.

3) Don't think too much about how many miles per day you will need to do, unless this is a goal that motivates you. Everyone is different. If you were to ask on the forum, what is a good daily distance touring, you'd get as many different answers as the people who reply. Also, when you get to thinking about how far you want to ride each day, consider whether you want to see museums, stately homes, national parks, or other tourist destinations, and make sure that you leave time to enjoy them. I sometimes schedule short days or take a relatively relaxed tour, just so I can do stuff like that. That said, if I try to do more than about 60 or 70 miles per day, I don't enjoy myself. I prefer a leisuely pace, eating when I feel like it, stopping to take pictures, talk to people, pet cats, explore a path that looks interesting, or whatever else takes my fancy.

4) Start collecting kit. Here are a couple of good threads
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=85590
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=48438
When you have enough stuff, take a weekend tour from home to somewhere and back the next day at or near your & your wife's distance capability at that time. Don't forget that loaded with luggage may mean a shorter distance than you can ride unladen. Do short trips periodically during your training. This will help you sort out routines and kit, where you can have a back-up plan (calling someone for a lift or taking the train home?) as well as being good training.

As for the tandem... well, they can be great fun. https://www.tandeming.co.uk/ do tandem experience days, if you want to try it. BUT tandeming is a whole nother kettle of fish, and not something I would recommend trying to manage for a trip in September. Perhaps, you've got enough to do between now and then?

[Tyre Lady]

@Ollie732 - it is better to be mad than normal
Don't let anyone shoot down your dreams and ambitions.

I am planning a major touring cycle journey with very little time. I might fail, I might succeed It's all part of the adventure and trying new things. I will do as much planning as I can within my own personal time constraints but at the end of the day Europe is not the same as Asia which is not the same as Africa which is not the same as the Arctic!!! Am going to assume there will be enough help in Europe if ever I get into trouble. I do like to have a plan A, B and C.

Have found all comments on my planning to be constructive enough for me to help me understand the hardship I will be putting myself through and am good with it all viewtopic.php?f=16&t=127912

I really hope you and the Missus move forward with your dream of cycling across the Continent. It will be an awesome adventure.

Keep planning, keep posting. There are really excellent folk on this site to help you realise that dream.

[simonhill]

Without going back over the 4 pages, I don't think he has been shot down. The main comments were that his route is not the best cycling that could be had and also that he is being overoptimistic about distance. Personally I stand by both as sensible advice.

Now for something else to consider. No one has mentioned weather, etc.

The max temperature in Marseille at the beginning of September is 28°, by the end of the month it is down to 26. There are only 3 rain days on average, but this rises to 6 for Biarritz.

I'll let the OP decide how this will affect his days cycling. 26/28 is probably about how it was in the UK during last summer's heatwave. He may be able to handle this OK, or may want to factor in 2 or 3 hour early afternoon siestas. Also, what does he intend to do if it is raining.

Just to assure you I am not being a doom laden moaning minnie, I am currently cycling in 36 - 38° heat. It doesn't overly bother me except for one rather unpleasant hill.

[horizon]

I am planning a major touring cycle journey with very little time. . . I will do as much planning as I can within my own personal time constraints

Without (hopefully) stretching your meaning too much, I just wanted to add that one of the recurrent themes in this thread is that it isn't the planning (important though that is) but the practice that counts - and I am as much an offender here as anyone.

The OP could answer his own question (great question though) simply by doing some overnight touring in the UK and replicating some of the conditions and parameters he will face: hot summer's day, 70 miles, accompanied by wife, luggage on bike. And before then lots of cycling on day trips etc.

The feedback and learning you get from one ride, never mind the increase in fitness and saddle-hardiness, is huge - it answers loads of questions (even some you hadn't even asked yourself). But there was still no harm in his starting this thread.

[MrsHJ]

Well you'll probably want to budget for a couple of bikes. And ride them from now.

Unless your wife is taller than you, then she's probably much weaker than you and you should basically plan on bringing all the luggage for you both.

Ooohhh no one told me to bring a man with me to carry all my luggage. Any man want to come on my newbie tour?

I can only say that I end up carrying some of the heavy luggage when cycling with my husband so he can keep up- don't make assumptions.Power to the women cyclists.

[mjr]

Without going back over the 4 pages, I don't think he has been shot down.

OK, that's your memory, but viewtopic.php?p=1333329#p1333329 passes for "shot down" to me: "Yes you are mad [...] totally unrealistic [...] you and your wifey will be shattered [...] end in divorce [...] visit your doctor [...] "

[LollyKat]

Yebbut that's just one poster who has strong opinions on most things...